Post Blue
by KatsuMegStirFry
Summary: Zero wants to grow Kaname a garden of natural blue roses, but that's impossible! With the help of a girl who wants to repay a debt can he accomplish the impossible? -stupid crappy summaries D8- A review would be mucho appreciated, thanks D88-//Oneshot


**A/N: **_Yes, the title is named after another song by Placebo. Also, the names of the landmarks in here are completely and entire made up [and they are mostly mountainous creations since…..I live in the mountains. And eat deer, and elk, and run with wolves. Like an Indian (oh, pardon me, _Native American, _ahem, ahem__). Oh wait, I am one :D] *throws rocks at you* Growing up on a reservation is…..not too cool. *shudders*_

_**Update: **Oh wow, I swear I'm not slow! The spelling errors just keep adding up DX_

**Post Blue**

**- - -**

**Zero **looked up from his task as a tall shadow fell over him, blocking the little sunlight he needed to see at four-thirty in the morning. The young owner of the estate watched him with expressionless, rust-colored eyes. The moment their eyes met something electric made its way up Zero's spine. He shivered.

Then he bowed, much to his disgust, his head almost touching the soil he was previously turning over. "Forgive me, master, I wasn't aware you were going to be on an outing today. If I had any foresight, the garden would look much better than," He stopped short when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "This."

The Pureblood pushed him back to a kneeling position and gazed at him. Then, out of nowhere, he held a rose next to Zero's face. It was a very light purple color, and he had never seen anything like it. _Beautiful,_ was all he could think. As a flower gardener he knew he simply must research and grow this rose someday. Someday.

"Remarkable." Said the Vampire. His eyes looked from the rose to Zero's eyes and back. Then he must have sensed the confusion and slight fear in Zero because he blinked and apologized.

"I'm sorry, it's just….I saw your eyes and…," He kept constant eye contact with the teen. "What is your name? You seem kind of young to be working full-time."

"My name is Kiriyu Zero. I am eighteen as of next month."

The Pureblood sniffed. "Kiriyu Zero, hm?" He laughed, the sound raced like electricity through Zero's body. "You are hardly old enough to look after yourself. Shouldn't you be in college instead of planting flowers all day?"

Zero could feel the anger building in his chest. He felt like he should yell at this person for criticizing his work. Who was he to judge? Sure, Zero didn't actually have the proper funding for school, but he didn't need it. His current job paid well, and he loved doing it. The best thing to do was just to...

"Excuse me, sir, but I need to get back to my duties. I love my current occupation here, and would not like to be fired, by you might I add, for shirking my chores. Thank you for the pleasant conversation." And with that Zero stood, dusted himself off as much as possible, and started his journey to the old wooden shed at the edge of the grounds. Halfway there he was yet again stopped by a firm, yet gentle hand on his shoulder.

The boy turned and looked at the man, expecting to be punished for talking to a Pureblood in such a manner. He didn't care, he hated Vampires anyway. The only reason he worked with the damned beasts was because his love for botany was too great.

The young master opened his mouth to say something, stopped, thought it over, and finally began to talk. "Wait, Kiriyu…Zero," he said quickly, but not fast enough for Zero to miss the sudden act of intimacy and blink, multiple times, understandibly confused.

Something purple once again flashed before his face as Kaname held the rose in front of , him. Zero slowly, cautiously, reached up and gently touched the petals, cataloging their softness and silky texture. He looked back at the vampire, who gazed at him, then glanced down at the flower, as if to indicate something. Zero looked at the purple rose again and ever so gently plucked it from the long fingers that entrapped it.

He sniffed, inhaling the aroma. He always did this with flowers. As a gardener it was obviously a habit, an automatic reaction that he had to nearly any plant. But when he looked up and saw the curious and slightly amused look on the other's face he realized that it may seem odd to other people around him. Pale cheeks flushed a dark, luscious shade of pink as those brown eyes watched him with an odd (and sort of creepy) sense of affection.

"…About earlier, with your eyes…I was matching them to the color of the rose. You see, that's just about how far botanists can go with blue pigment in roses."

"Blue roses?"

"Yes. Blue's just about the only color roses do not naturally have, because…"

"…They haven't on speck of blue pigment in their petals," Zero finished for him, looking at the dainty purple blossom in his clutch.

"That's right." He smiled, holding out his hand for Zero to shake. "By the way, I've never told you my name. I'm Kaname. Kuran Kaname."

He took Zero's hand and shook it, his grip once again kind, but strong. Zero bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"Kaname-nii-sama!" A voice like the tinkling of bells called his name. Turning, the prince watched his young sister, Yuuki, make her way over to them from the back doors of the mansion. Now that he looked at it from here, it was more of a castle, with it's stone walls, wooden beams, and classy décor.

She came running up to them in her scarlet red dress and high heels. Her hair was done up in a messy, curly ponytail. "Kaname-nii-sama! Please tell these women that I will not wear a dress to the ball!" As if on cue, two older, plumper, grey-haired vampires stumbled from the house.

"But Yuuki-sama--" One of them cried out. But the girl huffed, crossed her arms, and turned away.

"I will not!" She stuck her nose in the air, not in a prissy way, but in that girly, "I-am-holier-than-thou-and-should-be-treated-as-such" attitude that they all seemed to have.

Kaname spoke softly to his sister, the love and devotion for her showing in his voice. "Why don't you want to wear this dress, Yuuki? It looks beautiful on you."

Yuuki blushed and mumbled something like, "You say _everything_ looks beautiful on me." Then she looked up at him, a mutinous gleam in her eye.

"I love this dress, especially if you like it, but…I don't want to be around those lecherous old Vampires like this." Zero could definitely understand that. Older Purebloods and nobility were not only pompous bastards and highly annoying, but they were of the most perverse nature Zero had ever seen.

Suddenly, Yuuki seemed to notice him, blinking and smiling bashfully. "Oh, I'm sorry you have to hear this, hahahah. But those old men are just very…creepy." She rubbed her arms sarcastically, as if she had goose bumps.

"_Ha-ha_, Yuuki. We love your sense of humor." Kaname was also being sarcastic, albeit, lovingly. "Well then, if you would like, you can wear a suit to the ball. Just don't blame me if you are mistaken for a man."

_Ball?_ Zero thought. _Oh, yes, the one in two weeks, for the spring equinox. This is the first time I've ever seen it held at the Kuran mansion._

Her eyes sparkled like the finest rubies and she ran and kissed her brother on the cheek. "Yes! Thank you brother! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She ran back into the house, her assistants glumly following behind her.

Zero blinked. Then he looked at the Pureblood he was, once again, watching him. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by another yell of, "Kaname-sama!"

This time it seemed to be one of his companions, the one with tousled blonde hair and icy blue eyes. He ran towards Kaname, a clipboard in hand. He reached the Pureblood and began to talk to him, giving Zero the briefest of glares. He could practically here the, _"Kaname-sama and a level _D_?!" _spill from his pink, pretty, and awfully gay vampire lips.

Something about a complication with the guest list. Kaname's assistance was urgently needed.

The pureblood nodded and told "Aidou" to go back. He'd be there soon. The blonde walked slowly back to the front of the house, watching them over his shoulder very dubiously. Kaname waited before he was out of sight before he turned back to Zero, smiling.

"It seems I am needed. _Urgently_." He sighed, sarcastically.

_Wow, Purebloods actually have a sarcastic bone in their body. And they use it a lot._

Kaname smirked as if he had heard the thought.

"Ah, yes, it seems so." Zero looked at the ground. As Kaname began to walk away, a disappointed atmosphere growing around him. Then he noticed something…

"Oh, wait! Your rose--" Zero began to shout.

"Keep it. It's for you. It matches your eyes." Kaname called to him, walking backwards so he could look at the gardener. "You know…I think it would be magnificent to have a true-blue rose someday, don't you?"

The teen nodded, watching the Pureblood laugh, turn around, and disappear, out of sight, after his friend.

Something nagged at the back of his mind when he went back to work. It bugged him all hours of the day, through the grueling work of turning over the soil of the large garden and covering it with fertilizer, seeds, and sprinkling it with water.

By noon, when his shift ended, he was standing solemnly under the hot August sun, pondering that morning's events. The sun beat down on his pale, exposed shoulders. Surprisingly his skin never tanned, and sometimes that could make his life a bit hard, what with everyone getting tans these days to look healthy and all that bullcrap. He didn't really care anyhow.

Sweat dampened his white tank top, making his skin glisten slightly. He stretched, listening to the bones in his back pop and crack.

_Damn, that feels better._ The knots of tension in his lower back that had come from bending over to spread seeds and fertilizer dissipated instantaneously. He adjusted his straw cowboy hat and gathered all the supplies to put away.

He quickly put everything in the tool shoes and grabbed his thin, checkered button up, put it on, and grabbed the set of silver keys from his back pocket. He quickly found the one to his dusty old truck and unlocked the door. He climbed in, started the loud engine, and made his way down the beaten mountain path back to town.

- - -

Right before Angel's Cavern, a huge cave if the side of the ravine, one can drive on the far side of the road and see the river that makes it's snake-like way through the mountains.

The road, winding it's way next to, and sometimes into, the Cliffside was about thirty feet from the roaring waters. And that was less than enough to keep the water at bay. During spring, when it would flood, this road would sometimes disappear entire.

Even during winter, those waters were deadly. Zero looked at the rapids, the dirty, churning, whiteness of the river. He remembered falling into the shallow water that evened out downstream when he was about six years old. It was moving so fast, carrying him away so fast that his father had to tie a rope to his waist and something sturdy that he could pull them back to land with, and jumping in after Zero.

Now that he thought about it, there was a drought that year.

He turned the bend where the water evened out a bit and calmed before it reached town. Zero could see the tops of the houses and buildings peeking out from behind the next turn. _Almost home_, he exhaled. For some reason, he'd been very pensive today, and he didn't know why.

Maybe he'd stop at the store and buy a book on roses. Well, another one anyway. He had four books on roses alone. You should see his library for orchids, man oh man! That was _a lot _of books.

He was spacing out, swerving slightly, not paying attention, and, oh, now that you mentioned it….didn't have a seatbelt on [**A/N: **_Hint-hint. Also, don't drink and drive. It'll, literally, drive you to hell]. _That was at least three violations right there. Too bad there were no cops around, or else Zero would have been pulled over and he wouldn't have saved the person who changed his life forever.

Next thing he knew, something flung itself from a crack in the wall of rocks next to the road in front of his truck. Nearly four more raced after it. He didn't stop in time and nicked the first creature, hearing a yelp of pain, and hit a few of the others. Looking in one of his mirrors he saw three to five wolves snarl at him and scamper away, tails between their legs.

Zero got out and checked for any dead animals, finding none. _Huh, _he thought, _lucky dogs._

He walked around the other side of the truck, getting dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, in search of any other animal the wolves may have been chasing. At first he didn't think there was any and was about to turn when he saw a fraction of a face peeking at him from under the truck. At disappeared almost instantly.

Quickly, the silver-haired teen ducked down to peer at whatever was hiding from him. It looked like a child. She had a red cloak on and her hair covered her glaring eyes menacingly. The way she managed to crouch on the tips of her fingers and toes was a bit feral, like an animal backed into a corner with nothing but its teeth and claws to defend itself.

Still, Zero reached out a hand for the kid, calling to her in a voice that he hoped was stern and adult-like. "Hey you, that was dangerous, what you did. You could have gotten killed. Come out from there."

The flinched and backed up towards the other side of the car, towards the rushing water. Come to think of it, Zero wondered why he even parked so close the goddamn edge in the first place. One move and she would be dead.

The gardener crouched more, crawling further under the truck. The girl growled at him. Actually growled, like a dog. He blinked but continued to offer his hand.

"Come back here you idiot! Move one inch and your fish food!" In an instant he tried to make a grab for her red cloak, but she was too fast and moved back. She was, literally, _too_ fast, because she ended up slipping half-way off the cliff. Zero could hear her surprised scream like a thousand needles in his head. Jeez, what an annoying girl. He wiggled his way under the vehicle, figuring he had no time to spare. This was an open window, and he intended to use it.

She struggled to pull herself back up, but the truck blocked her way, and her thin arms began to slip. Zero grabbed for her, but she fell farther, her hands clinging to the cliffside desperately. Zero managed to get a hold of one of her wrists but she flinched and pulled away, screaming again as her one hand began to slip under her weight. The dirty, foamy water beneath her sprayed on her legs, making her bare feet freeze with the temperatures of fresh mountain snow.

Another failed attempt at grabbing one of the child's wrists and she finally slipped. Zero yelled "No!" as she disappeared. He army crawled to the edge of the raging waters, expecting to see a red cloak being carried somewhere downstream, but there was none. He finally looked down the side of the wall to see a certain kid hanging onto a tiny crack in the wall with all her might. Fear clouded her brown and yellow eyes like thunderclouds on a sunny June afternoon.

Just as the dirt of the wall gave away and she began to fall to the water's icy clutches, Zero's strong grip came down upon her tiny wrist and held her suspended in the air. The kid exhaled loud enough for him to hear over the roaring water. She wasn't heavy, Zero noted, but she wasn't exactly a feather either. Pulling her up might be a problem. He looked around and saw nothing of use to him, that is, until another car, full of rowdy kids on spring break no doubt, zoomed past his truck and knocked down something that had been hanging off the edge of the bed.

A green gardening hose fell down next to the kid's body and she looked up at him, determination and beginning to dominate fear. The hose was attached to a very heavy box of tools, a pile of shovels and hoes, and other large gardening equipment. Zero used the hose to tie the stuff in one place so it didn't go flying out of the back of his truck and kill somebody.

He swung her over a bit and she grabbed the make-shift rope. Next thing he knew, she was making her way up the rope and into the bed of the truck, sighing almost gratefully. He did the same. Zero crawled back out and opened to tailgate for her to climb out.

She did so and jumped down, carefully though, as if something were wrong with her foot. She stared at him with her colorful eyes like she knew she needed to thank him, but didn't want to. The stubborn little…

Zero sighed and turned to fix the tools in the truck. "It's fine, you don't have to thank me. But I think that you should fix your foot if you were to go out there with those wolves again." She hunched her shoulders and took a limping step backwards to support herself.

Two more rowdy cars raced by on the narrow road and startled her with their blasting speakers. She lost her balance and fell. Zero caught her easily and before she could make another move he was carrying her to the cab of the truck. She struggled, but he managed to finally cram her into the front seat and click the seatbelt shut. She glared at him, he glared back. She growled at him. He slammed the door in her face.

The teen climbed back into his truck, clicked his seatbelt in place and started the engine once more. As they were nearing town he looked at the girl, who was staring out of the window nervously. Her head dipped down as she looked at something on the dashboard. She plucked the purple rose from it and looked at it closely in her hand.

Unexpectedly, a flowing sentence of words escaped her lips. "How long are you going to keep me under your watch?" The sound of her voice was unnaturally civilized and calm. It was really creepy.

The gardener looked over at her suspiciously. He could see from the way her eyes switched from the handle on the door to the river she'd almost fallen into to the town of which they were oh, so close.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll let you go once your foot's healed. Until then, though, you're staying with me."

She looked up at him, pulling her cloak over her brown sun-kissed shoulders. Her hair fell over her face in that animalistic way that made her look crazy. "What are you really going to do to me, I wonder?" Her voice was playful but her eyes held an undertone of hatefulness and disgust. The pure venom in it made Zero cringe.

He stopped the truck so suddenly that she jerked forward in her seatbelt, nearly ramming her head on the dash. Slowly, Zero let out a frustrated sigh and let up on the break, letting the car coast slowly. An angry Zero was not good for the poor pedestrians of his town.

"I don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm not going to hurt you."

Who was this girl to assume he was _that _kind of person. "It is, however, my fault that your ankle is sprained, and I am going to take responsibility for it. As soon as we get to town, I'm calling your parents. A kid like you shouldn't be playing around next to a river, with wild animals no less." He heard her laugh quietly.

"I have no parents," She said.

He was mildly surprised, but he didn't question her. "Your siblings then."

"Don't have any of those either. Six feet under."

She smiled, but the loneliness in her voice echoed in the cab of the vehicle, and something familiar tugged at Zero's heart strings. He too knew the pain of not having any family and the sound of this girl's voice was reminiscent of his own at her age. She watched him from the corner of her discolored eyes.

"Is anybody looking after you at all?" he asked. She shrugged.

He glared at her and grumbled, "What the hell does _this_ mean?" He indicated what he meant by shrugging. If this girl had no place to go and she was doing reckless things, then…

"I guess you are now." Zero snapped back to reality as two boys crossed the road on their little bikes, avoiding his vehicle. They drove through the paved streets now, passing general stores and houses between crops of trees and grassy plots of land. Next to some houses there were stables filled with horses and other animals.

"I guess so." Zero felt a bead of sweat trickle down his neck. He turned down the heater, but it didn't help much. What was he saying? Was he going to care for this random girl he just shoved into his car after running her down? He thought about the many different ways somebody could interpret that sentence. The many wrong, perverted ways.

No. No, he was just going to make sure her foot healed correctly, then he would take her down to the police station. They could sort this mess out. With the ball in two weeks he would be a busy man, no time for things such as kids.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were coming from somewhere in the mountains. But coming down from that place so early in the day just to take a lunch break would be irrational." She was quiet for a moment. "Clearly, you work from very early in the morning to around the afternoon. Your personality isn't that of a noble, and neither is your wardrobe, so you can't be a vampire yourself. Not a true one anyway." She stared at the large, black tattoo on his neck.

"You also have gardening equipment in the back of your truck and dirt on your clothes. Do you garden for a noble family?"

Zero was tense, hearing how easily she just summed up his work life, exposing him for the Vampire that he was. He nodded, pulling onto a dirt road.

"Ah. The Pureblood siblings?"

"Yeah," he replied, wondering how this kid knew about vampires.

"I have experience in gardening." She mused. "Maybe….maybe while I'm with you, for the time being….so I wouldn't have to wait alone in this noisy place…"

"What?" Zero asked. He could barely hear her as her sentence trailed off.

"I know you won't turn me into the police until my leg is healed, so, until it is, you should put me to work!" She blurted out, looking up at him,

"What?" He repeated, his brow furrowing.

"I mean…as payment for saving my life…anyone else would have probably let me drown." Their eye contact was lost.

He sighed and ran a hand through his silver hair. "Look kiddo, saving your life was something I would have done anyway. There's no need to repay me."

_I don't even know your name._

They pulled to a halt in front of a good-sized cabin and Zero got out. Before he was halfway to her side of the truck she was running up to him. Or, sort of limping. He felt bad now, for hitting the poor red girl. "Come inside so I can bandage your foot."

Zero began walking towards his front door when she grabbed his shirt. He looked over his shoulder, directly into shiny, almost-innocent eyes. Her cape fluttered behind her, and her shoulder-length hair curled around her face like poison ivy. He could now see that she was wearing a torn black dress shirt and a plaid red skirt underneath her red coat. The story of Little Red Riding Hood came to mind as he remembered the wolves that chased her.

"Please! I won't let it go until you let me work for you. I can't stand being indebted to someone!"

Zero could feel the one-sided awkwardness creeping into his body. She was only doing this to make sure he didn't ask for any favors in the future. What a selfish little girl. But he turned away from the persistent face and opened his front door. Inside it was pitch dark, the only light emanating from the open doorway. "I like the dark," he simply stated as he walked in.

He watched her as she cautiously stepped inside, leaving the door open wide, as if she would need to escape quickly. "Sit down on the couch and I'll get the bandages." He began walking towards the bathroom when he stopped and looked at her. The kid shuddered when she saw his eyes glint in the darkness.

"You're not bleeding are you?" He questioned her. Zero didn't smell blood at the moment, but that didn't mean there was any. The sight of it alone would make him go nuts. Not today, not on this little girl. He'd rather her bandage herself if she was, indeed, bleeding.

She looked herself over and shook her head. Zero let out a sigh, glad for the first time since he met this child. He retrieved his first-aid kit and sat on the soft reading chair next to the couch. He patted his knee and told her to rest her knee on his lap.

She looked at him oddly and it took a bit of convincing before she finally relented. Zero was glad to see that, besides a few scrapes and bruises, there was no blood whatsoever. While he wrapped gauze carefully around the tiny foot, he talked to the girl.

"What's your name?" He said. For a moment she was silent, and he looked up at her from his task.

"I don't remember." She stated simply.

One thing the teen was sure of: This person was weird.

"What do you mean you, 'don't remember'?" He tried his best to sound like an intimidating adult.

"I don't remember. I haven't really even seen another person face-to-face in years, let alone talked to anyone. I'm surprised I can even talk now." It was true though. Some of her words were pronounced oddly, enunciated wrong.

"Do you remember anything about your name?"

"I think it started with a 'K'. A 'Kuh' sound...I think. Kuh…kah….Kasu…Kasu-something." She thought long and hard. "Kasumi. Call me Kasumi." She smiled at Zero.

"What is your name, oh honorable savior?" She laughed.

"My name…My name is Zero." He finished bandaging her ankle and held out his hand for her to shake. She took it, gripping firmly, like another man. Finally, a girl who knew how to shake hands.

"Nice to meet you Kasumi."

"Likewise, Zero-kun."

"Now," he said, "About you coming to work with me."

She smiled, grinning like a sadistic little hyena before it devoured a helpless meerkat.

- - -

The sun beat down on the estate that day. There was about three days until the Spring Ball and Zero had lots of work to do, growing flowers, planting decorative types of plants, and doing other gardener-type things. He wasn't lost to the agenda though. He had his little helper with him.

She couldn't help him with everything though, as he soon found out. The kid was color blind, which really startled him. Normally that trait ran from father to son in the male gene. It was rare that a girl ever became colorblind. And since she couldn't ell the difference between purple and red, he had to sort the colors out for her and label them.

That wasn't to say Kasumi was a slacker. As she had promised the gardener, she was a very hard worker. From Midnight to noon she would work, stopping only briefly for short breaks with Zero. He himself was pleased to get an assistant. It made everything easier for him when he could give the small stuff to her and get to work on larger, more important projects.

This particular afternoon, though, Kaname paid another visit with Yuuki.

Zero was kneeling in the dirt next to Kasumi, teaching her how to plant tulips so that they would thrive for quite a while when two shadows once again loomed over their heads.

Zero was the first to notice, slightly ashamed of his dirt-caked jeans and filthy shirt. Kasumi however, took pride in the fact that her baggy checkered button-up (which was Zero's) and her rolled up jean shorts (which were, obviously, also Zero's) were covered in mud and grass stains. Even under the shade of their straw cowboy hats one could see the dust on their faces. It was bit endearing though, like brother and sister planting flowers in the garden.

The two botanists looked up to see two noble Purebloods staring at them intently. Zero's eyes met Kaname's and he was pulled into the hypnotic pools of chocolate. "Hello Zero." The voice was a smooth as porcelain.

"Hello Kaname-sama." Zero grinned.

The Pureblood laughed and he knelt down to Zero's level. "You know Zero," he fingered the scarlet tulips the gardener held in his hand. "I love all the work you're doing to make the landscape as beautiful as ever, but if you wanted an assistant you could have asked me."

Zero glanced at Kasumi who stared at Kaname, then to him. He also made a note of how Yuuki, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, stared down at the girl. He'd never seen such a look on the Pureblood's face before. She seemed almost angry. It kinda scared him.

"Ah, no…well, she insisted on working for me. You see, she was about to….and I…um." Zero couldn't find the words to explain. Kasumi saw this and grabbed for Kaname's attention.

"Zero-dono saved my life! I fell over a cliff in the mountain pass and couldn't climb back up because I had sprained my ankle." Zero was glad she didn't explain how it got sprained.

"He pulled me back over before I could fall into the river and bandage my foot. I couldn't just leave without repaying my debt to him. So, you see, I insisted on working for him."

Kaname looked at her and smiled. Then he turned to Zero and said, "Quite the hero, aren't you Zero-kun?" He then pulled something out of his coat pocket and handed it to him.

"A hero deserves a reward." The Pureblood began to stand when he crouched back down and handed Kasumi a small card with golden scroll on it. "You're invited too." He then stood and left, chatting happily with his sister who kept glancing at the young girl every couple of seconds until they were gone.

She looked down at the card and read it.

"_You are cordially invited to this year's Spring Ball at the Kuran mansion! You may bring a companion unless, of course, you dance alone."_

She flipped over to the back.

"_Zero-kun & Friend"_

Kasumi looked over and saw that Zero was faintly blushing at the item in his hand. She leaned over his shoulder and saw a small, origami rose. It was the prettiest blue color she'd ever seen.

"Ah!" She gasped. "What a pretty flower! I've never seen a blue rose before. They don't exist do they Zero-dono?"

He shook his head and sighed. "I wish they did."

"Eh?"

"Kaname-sama's dream is to one day obtain a natural blue rose. More than anything I wish I could decorate the land with millions and millions of blue roses. His smile makes me feel good about myself."

She stayed silent.

Zero picked up his gardening shovel and told her they'd better get back to work. She complied but stayed quiet the rest of the day. Zero said nothing.

This kid's mood swings were as unpredictable as the weather.

- - -

The moon has almost finished waxing that night. Wispy grey clouds drifted lazily in the night sky, blocking the moonlight from illuminating the world below the heavens.

On the Kuran estate a shadow of a dog crept out onto the grassy lawn. The flowers were so bountiful that any vampire of nobility would be pleased to be in their presence.

But there was one problem: They weren't blue. None. Zip. No blue flowers at all.

Zero had probably thought that if the blue flowers weren't roses then they didn't deserve to be planted. It wouldn't be very surprising if that was, indeed, the case.

The shadow's ears pricked as an owl hooted in the distance, the noise lingering and echoing across the valley that the estate lie in, and up into the tall and not-so-distant mountains. It looked around with its yellow eyes, searching for any guards or enemies. Sensing none it raised its head to the sky and howled.

Coast was clear.

Leaves and twigs cracked as another shadow emerged from the forest, dressed in a long red cape, moving awkwardly, with a limp. This shadow was more humanlike, almost childish in form, and one yellow eye glowed in the darkness.

The dog retreated back into the darkness as its friend walked over to an area in the middle of the estate. Slowly, they pulled a knife from their pocket and cut their arm wide open, not even stopping to grunt or wince as blood spilled onto the ground.

There was a splattering sound as more and more blood flowed from the gash. From the ground small green vines grew up and curled in little tousles, sprouting leaves and crimson thorns.

A powerful wind blew away the clouds in the sky, unveiling the giant tangle of vines that slithered and writhed and crept their way across the grounds of the mansion. Even the other flowers were overcome by the new plants that invaded, like an old, pesky species of animal being wiped out by another carnivorous species.

Like the rabbits and frogs in Australia, and countless species of plants.

It also revealed the broken and bloody arm of the trespasser, standing solitary in the yard. Their red coat fluttered in the breeze as the wind began to pick up. The air smelt of water. It was going to rain tomorrow. Good.

"The plants will like that," said the feminine voice of the red-cloaked shadow. The arm that was used to water the ground was limp now. Useless. But, she figured, with the proper therapy and medicines it could be good as new. Now the most difficult task left to do was to get home.

She began limping back to the cover of the forest when a deep rumbling voice spoke to her. "Has Little Red found new master? Hm?" The heavy German accent should have toned down the menace of it, but it really just cranked it up.

The girl's shoulders shook for a moment as she let the shivers escape from her body. She turned and looked over her shoulder to find an impossibly large, bulky man standing across the garden. He looked like a bodybuilder on mega-steroids. A small crop of red hair spiked at the top of his head. His skin was so pale it was nearing a dark shade of purple, and his lips were black. Eyes as red as the fresh blood spilt upon the ground burned like hellfire through her very soul.

Still, the man heard as she ground her teeth and stuck her chin out. The kid had guts, especially after committing such an act of defiance against him, for sinning against the law of their people. She was once family to him, like a little sister. But now she was just an enemy. Another bug to squash under his iron fist.

"You come to my pack, you befriend us, live with us. Then you turn. You taint the others' minds with your talk of…of _slavery!_

"When little girl first arrive in red cloak, telling her silly little tales and showing off magic powers, I think to myself, 'Is just like Little Red Riding Hood.' I think it was just like story mother used to tell before bed.

"Little Red was innocent then. Was part of pack, part of _family_. But she come back after a long time, and was different. At first, Milo thought you grow up, you become adult. But no. Soon Milo find out, soon everyone find that….that….Little Red was _tamed_. _Tamed!_"

His voice was heavy with anger and laced with remorse as Milo stepped toward his dear Little Red Riding Hood. His giant fists were balled up at his sides, and his sharp teeth protruded between his jet black lips. And it seemed as his anger increased the more his aura pulsed and thrived around him. Sparks and little forks of lightning seemed to eradicate the very air around them.

From the forest behind him stepped two raven-haired wolves, snarling and foaming at the mouth in the presence of the girl. But her form remained quiet, standing stout and aware of her surroundings. She knew, Milo knew, they all knew, that she was going to die this very night.

"You got away that other time," the man spat. His voice greatly accented the thunder in the distance. "Mark Milosh's words Little Red; You will not get away this time."

The girl took a shuddering breath as the clouds swept over the moon, beginning to erase every trace of light in the land.

She counted the seconds until darkness would envelope her. Until she would disappear.

Three…

The shadows grew darker and darker behind her. She made no move.

Two…

Not a breathe, not even a bat of the eye.

One…

As soon as the dark consumed her, she was off, running like the wind. Her hood fell back and her hair fluttered like a flag in a hurricane. Thunder rumbled ahead, and even through the dense cover of trees she felt a drop of water on her skin.

Twigs and branches cut and stabbed at her feet, leaving a trail of blood behind her. "Shit!" She screamed. They had her scent, and finding her now would be as easy as tracking her heat traces with infrared goggles. Still, she ran and ran and ran. For the first mile in a general western direction the dogs were running next to her, tracking her. They weren't ready to kill their prey, not until master gave the signal.

She turned north when she heard the river's slight trickle nearby. Now, running opposite the direction of the water's flow, she could practically feel the animals closing in on her. There was still a distance from the bank of the river, but she was keeping close in case she would need to swim. Not that she would be able to when the rain began to pour.

Even though it was only March, the thickness and dark grey color of the clouds was enough to tell that it would be a hard night. More drops flew in her eyes as she dodged bushes and fallen trees, branches, small but deep puddles of water, anything that could slow her down.

She may be doomed to die tonight, but lord knows she wasn't gonna go down without a fight.

- - -

Zero was awake when Kasumi left.

He had given her money for helping him in Kaname's garden. She protested at first, but after being scolded by him, relented. She stared at him for a long time before she stood and pulled on her red cloak.

"Where you goin' kid?" He asked, looking up from his reference book.

"Out to buy some food," she told him. "I want to make breakfast tomorrow." She smiled at him.

"You can cook?" Zero raised his eyebrows sarcastically, pulling his glasses down the bridge of his nose to glance at her. The girl created a pretty convincing show of acting all offended and stamped her feet and crossed her arms, muttering something about his "idiotic sense of humor". Then, with a wave and a "be right back!" she left. The sound of the screen door clicking in place left Zero with an empty feeling.

She wasn't coming back. He knew it. Kasumi had repaid her debt to him and now it was time for her to go. But something in Zero's chest ached hoarsely. It had been so long since he'd even had company. Over the two weeks since he met the girl on the highway she'd become something like a daughter to him. Well, maybe not a daughter, but more of a sister.

He sighed and put his book down. Zero decided that it would be best to go to bed early tonight. If he woke up early enough tomorrow he could finish up his work on the grounds and somehow explain to Kaname that he wasn't able to go to the ball.

He didn't belong there. Kaname knew it, he knew it, and so did all the snooty, swanky nobles. To go would be to kill his employer, socially and in a societal sense. No, he couldn't do that to him. No way.

So, after taking a hot shower and dressing in his night clothes, which were just a pair of work out pants, he went straight to bed. After turning out the lights he pulled back his heaver winter sheets and climbed in, turning out his light.

Zero tossed and turned that night, sleeping fitfully. He had vivid dreams, nightmares, of that little girl in the red cloak. Every vision, every noise, it was like he was watching it on a high-def television, the size of a billboard.

She was running through the forest, the branches of trees and bushes whipping at her arms and face and legs, twigs on the ground stabbing into her bare feet. Her red cape trailed behind her like a comet's tail.

At first he thought she was just running, running, running. No doubt having one of those fanatical urges of hers, of exerting her privilege of freedom, showing it off. But it became clear to him that she was running from something. She screamed as a black shadow came up behind her, getting closer and closer. Kasumi twisted and turned, running in circles. Zero saw that no matter which direction she ran in, the girl was river bound.

The rain poured upon the land, flooding the water well over the normal levels. It was basically a rogue wave heading straight for the ravine where the walls would even it out before it reached the city. But the girl was far upstream from there. If she were to attempt swimming there her tiny body would be instantly wiped out by the thunderous waves of the river.

He saw now that she was trapped. Behind her the river waited below a fifty-foot drop off of a cliff. In front, a demon and his three-headed dog. It snarled and growled and barked, red-tinged foam dripping from its bloody maw. The demon, who was just a black silhouette of the Hulk, held back the dog by a single flimsy chain. It sliced into the animal's neck like a knife, but the scent of blood only served to fuel its blood-thirsty desires.

With a laugh the demon let go of the leash and the momentum of the dog pulling on it sent the monster surging toward Kasumi, running as fast as the raging river below. The girl, battered and bloody, stepped back, avoiding one deathly fate and falling, literally into another. Zero didn't know which one would be more painful. Probably the river. But nonetheless, no matter how much Zero willed his mind to make everything happy rainbows again, his brain wouldn't have it. It was like he was under some sort of spell, forced to watch this kid die such a horrible way.

She fell and everything seemed to go in slow motion. Her hand was reaching out to the sky as she fell, mouth open, screaming for help. But now the bad guys were gone and it was just Zero and the girl. Her cloak had been ripped off by the dog, and it now flew about in the stormy gale that had rolled in with the weather.

He stood above her as she reached out for him. She was screaming for _him_ to _help_ her. In her eyes he didn't see the mysterious cat-like girl from before, or the lonely kid from the highway that reminded him so much of himself, he saw raw fear and anguish.

She was a caged bird now. A sacrifice just waiting to be made, to whatever god, in hopes of a bountiful harvest, a prosperous new year, some practice of self benefit.

She hit the water and was consumed, almost instantly, by the icy current. Even with the patter of rain and roar of the river Zero heard her scream. It only took him seconds to realize he was screaming himself. Not because of Kasumi, or the crash of thunder that screeched through the air, but because Yuuki stood on the other bank. She stared him down with her accusing, blood-red eyes. They shined like coals in the darkness, and then she was gone.

In the span of a second Zero was pushed by someone over the edge of the cliff and into the raging river. He squeezed his eyes shut right before he hit the surface with a _smack_ . . .

- - -

"…_Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place, such a lovely face._

"_Plenty of room at the Hotel California, any time of year, you can find it here…"_

Zero grunted as he smacked the snooze button on the alarm. It'd been so long since he had to do that. The alarm was usually on Kasumi's side of the bed, so she'd always turn it off when she woke up. He planned on not actually getting up for one more hour. Kasumi usually let him sleep in while she got ready for the day, then wake him up and make sure he looked presentable enough to be working outside.

Oh well, he'd call off today. Zero could easily get the rest of his duties done in a few hours tomorrow afternoon.

And he did. Only that day he worked on clearing the road to the mansion, making sure there were no stray branches in the way of shiny cars. Zero spoke to no one.

He slept all the next day, with no problem, except his phone ringing off the hook. He just buried his face in his pillow and drifted off to a dreamy, happy sleep.

But there was a knock at the door around five in the evening. When Zero didn't answer, suspecting it was some loon trying to convince him that there were devils in the town, living off the humans, drinking their blood, they continued to rap on the door. _Only God could save his soul now! _or _Turn to Jesus before it is too late!_ Bah, what rubbish.

The knocking became more persistent and panicked. The gardener sighed against his pillow and crawled his ass out of bed. He walked groggily through his dark living room, void of the brightness the young girl would bring to his home with her silly cartoons and crustless sandwiches, which he admittedly enjoyed.

"Coming, I'm coming!" He yelled and the banging immediately ceased.

Shirtless, and a bit miffed, with mussed hair and tired eyes, he answered the door. The cool breeze that flowed in made his skin chilly, and he instantly regretted not wearing a shirt. Kaname stood in his doorway, clad in one of the finest suits he'd ever seen. He could almost see the Vampire's pupils dilate when he saw the exposed neck before him, and the shivering, pebbled skin.

Zero was about to stutter something about being too sick to go to work when Kaname's arms wrapped themselves around him. He found himself pulled into Kaname's tight embrace. The Pureblood laughed in Zero's ear as the teen tensed.

"K-Kaname-sama..wha--?"

"How did you do it Zero?" He seemed genuinely happy. Zero was positively clueless.

"Do what exactly?" Positively _oblivious._

Kaname pulled away and looked into his eyes. "The blue roses, Zero! How did you grow them?"

"What are you talking about Kaname?" But the gardener couldn't deny the warm feeling bubbling in his chest. Kaname was absolutely beaming, and that made him so happy.

Kaname just laughed and hugged him again. Zero squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to God that the person hugging him didn't feel his heart beating like a jackrabbit. Unfortunately he found out a minute later when Kaname breathed in his ear.

"Zero, your heart is beating so fast…" The Vampire pushed Zero farther into his house, closing the front door behind him. Once alone with the boy he couldn't hold back any longer. He just _needed_ to warm that shivering body. Zero's lips were as soft as silk from sleeping all day, and he made no move to resist as Kaname kissed him.

After a moment Kaname decided to deepen the kiss, his tongue making a wet line across Zero's bottom lip. They were about to continue before there was another knock on the door. Zero, flustered and dazed, scrambled out of Kaname's grip and ran to answer the door.

It was Yuuki. She stood in the doorway in one very nice red suit. But as schmancy as she should have looked, her cheeks were flushed and she seemed very panicked.

"Where…where is…she?"

"Who?" Zero asked.

"That girl! The one you were working with!"

"Gone…she left."

"Are you sure? You didn't have the nightmare?" _The nightmare. She had it too?_

"Yuuki-sama, how do you know about that?"

Kaname was sitting silent and confused in Zero's living room. He didn't mean to, but he felt absolutely neglected as the others ignored him. He was actually anxious to know why Zero wasn't dressed yet. Tonight was the ball. Zero _was _his date, wasn't he?

"The dream Zero, I don't think it was a dream. Do you know where she is?"

"No. Do you think she's hurt?"

Yuuki ran a hand through her hair and looked absently at something across the street. She looked as if she were going insane over this kid.

"Yuuki-sama…why are you so anxious about her…Kasumi, anyway?" Zero asked as he pulled on a sweatshirt and boots.

The girl gave no answer, but Kaname felt obligated to speak his nee-chan's feelings. "She likes her."

"What?" Zero asked as he grabbed his car keys.

"She likes her, Zero. Me too." Kaname repeated.

The teen shook his head. "Wait. You like Kasumi?"

"No, idiot!" Kaname sighed impatiently. "_You_, Zero. I li-like _love_ you!" The "love" part was awkwardly blurted out and left a burning silence in the room. Yuuki just stood there for a moment and stared before she began to pace again.

"K-Kaname, I…" Zero drifted off, not knowing what to say. This was all very sudden…and..awkward.

The Pureblood kept his head down, not looking his beloved in the eye. "Kaname-sama…I gotta go search for her." But before he reached the doorway that Yuuki paced in Kaname's hand touched his shoulder. He looked over.

"Zero…I don't want to be Kaname_-sama _to you. That's why I invited you to the ball. Now, please, before you go looking for the girl, tell me, what do you feel?"

It took the boy a minute to function. His voice just wouldn't work.

"I…I thing w-we should….wait, develop our relationship…and your ability to sweet-talk someone so they knew what's coming when you kiss them…" Zero's dry humor scared Kaname at first, but he ended up laughing his ass of when the teen finished his sentence.

"But before we delve into the terms and matters of commitment, Kaname-sama, I want to search for my friend." And then he turned and led Yuuki out the doorway. Kaname quickly caught up with them and grabbed Zero's hand.

"The first term of our commitment would be that you drop the titles from my name. I just want to hear you call me Kaname."

Zero grunted as the Vampire steered him towards his own car. "Fine, _Kaname. _We'll take your car."

Yuuki hopped into her own Ferrari and sped off, driving slowly down the bank of the river, keeping watch for anything Kasumi-like. The two guys in the black sports car did the same, scanning for any evidence of a child washed up on shore. Well, Kaname mostly just drove.

Halfway up the road that led through the ravine Zero turned quickly to Kaname and asked, "Wait, aren't you missing your party?!"

Kaname smiled. "Yes, but there's still plenty of time in the night for small talk with snobs. And besides, I don't really want to be there if you aren't."

Zero felt his face heat up so he turned and looked out the window. No sign of Kasumi.

They drove up the river, through the ravine, towards Kaname's house, then back down. Yuuki was always in front. They were a couple of hours into searching and getting ready when, halfway back to Zero's house, they spotted Kaname's little sister on the edge of the road, waving them down.

They pulled over and exited the vehicle, running over to the other Vampire. She leaned over part of a fence that blocked off an area that wasn't as steep as others. Down below a red cloak fluttered in the wind, caught on a branch implanted in the ground. But no girl.

Zero climbed down and retrieved the torn piece of cloth. He held it limply in his hand as he leaned against Kaname's car. He felt responsible for this. For killing this poor little girl. If he would have just….If he would have stopped her. How much would it have taken to tell her, "Wait. Don't go. I'll take care of you, just stay here and keep me company"?

How hard would it have been?

Kaname put an arm around the teen's shoulder. "It's alright Zero. It's not your fault. Please don't be sad." Kaname attempted to hug him, but Zero refused, saying he needed some time. Yuuki stayed silent ,except for telling Zero one thing; "It's always painful to watch someone die. Especially after they scream for help." Then she got into her car and sped off. Her words had something like past experience in them

Kaname's car was quiet and awkward as they drove back to Zero's house. Kaname said he'd visit after the party was over and everyone had left. After he was gone Zero was alone again. He unlocked his door and walked inside his silent home. He folded the red cloth in his hands and laid it out on the couch. Then he went to bed.

- - -

Kaname didn't come over the next morning, nor the next afternoon. Zero didn't go to work that whole week. He couldn't, not when he was solely responsible for the death of a poor little girl. He felt so…guilty.

It was on the fifth day, a Wednesday, when he got the note. He opened his front door, ready to go out and buy some milk, when he found a little red cardinal in a cage on his doorstep. On the front of the bird's intricate silver cage, a crumpled, wrinkled yellow note was taped to it.

He bent down and picked up the cage, taking it inside and putting it in the sunniest room of the house, which was his library. The bird chirped as sunlight once again warmed its blood red feathers. Zero slowly sat down as he read the note, carefully taking in the meaning of each word. After all, there could've been some secret code or meaning to it.

But no. It was a simple note. Only a few sentences long.

It was written in bright blue gel pen, but scribbled so bad that he could hardly read the damn thing.

_My dearest Zero, _it sounded as if she were making fun of him. She probably was.

_How are you? I know I'm just G-R-E-A-T! Okay, no, I'm not. I have to say, being knocked down a waterfall and a few sets of cataracts really messes a kid up. Anyway, I know that you, being the big sap that you are -don't deny it-, are eating yourself alive over my death. Don't. Number one, I'm not dead. Yet. So don't go insane over killing a kid. Two, I was going to leave anyway. I told you from the beginning; I don't want any unnecessary ties with you and your creepy vampire buddies, okay?_

_So, I'm sending you this bird, not only to keep you company, but to remind you that you're not alone. I may not be around to keep you company, but that boy your so in love with, that Kaname, he likes you too. Go on a date or something. It might be fun. And for his sister, tell her if she wants to win a girls heart, try chocolates and flowers instead of death glares._

_Remember: Keep Marzipan in a light room, feed him every day, and never clip his wings. There will be a time where you'll want to let him go._

_Kasumi_

Zero looked at the letter. He read it over and over, but it wouldn't process. It was only when Kaname rapped on the door and walked inside that he grinned and walked into the living room.

He went straight up to the Pureblood and pulled him down by his tie. Kaname's eyes widened as Zero kissed him tenderly on the lips, but he relaxed and pulled Zero closer, deepening the kiss for the first time. Seeing Zero like this made his stomach do flip-flops. Soon the boy parted from him, his lips glistening in the light.

"Kaname, let's go on a date."

- - -

_Damn! That took me a whole week to do!_

_Wow. I'm surprised none of my teeth got knocked out when someone [I refuse to say who] punched me in the mouth yesterday :]_

_It was really wimpy, but their knuckle hit just the right way so that it split my lip and made my teeth bleed. I was about to take a candle to their skull but luckily a few of my buddies held me back._

_Ah, I'm so hungry. T_T_


End file.
